20 Neue Litteratur. 



streaked ; inner lobes (petals) lanceolate-linear , acute , nearly as long 

 as the outer and similarly colored ; labial lobe (labellum) almost 

 equalling the others in length, spurless, its basal Prolongation com- 

 pletely adnate to the straight gynostemium, its main portion upwards 

 membranous, ovate-oi'bicular in outline, undivided , apiculated, above 

 the middle waved, towards the margin t'rom pink to whitish, towards 

 the raiddle and base marked with red pectinate streaks , towards the 

 axis on both sides yellowish , along the axis raised by a callous and 

 lightly-furrowed broad-linear plate, over the whole surface except near 

 the margin villous-downy ; gynostemium upwards dilated into an almost 

 oval form , towards the summit somewhat membranous , distinctly 

 extended beyond the anther , in front below the middle short-downy ; 

 anther outside much beset with very short hair. Stern jointed, 1 — II/2 

 foot high, bearing bract-like pointed and tightly claspingscales towards 

 the base. Rhizome creeping, emitting fibres and such also descending 

 from the lower not pseudo-bulbous joints of the stem. Leaves 4 — ^9 

 inches long, 1 — 2i'2 inches broad. Flower-stalk 3 — 4 inches long, beset 

 with three lanceolate-cylindric bracts of 3 4 — 1' 2 inches length, supported 

 at the base by an enlarged leaflike bract. Bracts about 2/3 of an inch 

 long. Flowers resupinate through twisting of their stalklets. Outer 

 calyx-lobes varying in length from somewhat less than one inch to 

 fully 1^2 inches, together with the inner dropping soon. Indication 

 of lobules of the labellum only faint by notches, its surface-hair tender, 

 colorless, intricate ; adnate basal portion somewhat turgid , hardly i/e 

 of an inch long, not turned outward, but corresponding to the .spur- 

 like Prolongation of other congeners. This last-mentioned characteristic 

 together with that of the extension of the gynostemium beyond the 

 anther distinguishes this species from most others of the genus. Fruit 

 drooping, obliquely norrow-ellipsoid , nearly 1'/- inches long, rather 

 deeply furrowed; it is freely produced in the conservatory ; thus this 

 plant needs not the aid of insects for fertilisation. The pollen-masses 

 are not quite waxy, but somewhat granulär, though well defined. 



This lovely Orchid was discovered in New Caledonia by Consul 

 Layard, C.M.G.,who during a long and arduous official career main- 

 tained a love for natural history in all its branches. He noticed this 

 plant on one locality only, from whence it came under the horticultural 

 care of Mr. James Roberts, F.R.H.S. , in whose conservatory and 

 under whose skillful attention it has lately been blooming here. It 

 was not mentioned by Professor Dr. G. Reichenbach in Garke's 

 Linnaea XLI (1876) on the occasion, when the endemic Orchideae of 

 New Caledonia to the extent of 31 became described. We have, however, 

 the well-known and somewhat, variable Phajus grandifolius also from 

 that Island. Blume (Orchidt^es de Tarchipel Indien p. B) remarks, that 

 in P. pauciflorus the labellum-spur is sometimes almost absent, though 

 normally this organ becomes well-developed ; furthermore he has shown 

 (Museum botanicum Lugdunense II, 181) , that in the few Mascarene- 

 species hitherto known the spur is always reduced to a mere gibbosity ; 

 therefoi-e the new congener , just described, might also be referred to 

 the section Gastrorchs (B. and H. gen. pl. III, 513), should — as likely 

 will be the case — the suppression of a free spur-like Prolongation prove 

 normal. 



From P. Araboinensis , which has also its spur almost obliterated 

 and its genital columella upwards dilated, our new species differs in 

 smaller leaves, in shorter racemes, in neither white nor blunt calyx- 

 lobes, in the not glabrous nor trilobuled nor simply yellow labellum 

 and in the partly velvety gynostemium; — from P. Graeft'ei (G. Rchb. 

 otia 52j, which shows an approach by the very diminutive spur, P. 

 Robertsii is separated by its acute calyx-lobes , the inner of which 

 narrower, and by the not papillular-rough labellum and gynostemium ; 

 — the two latter organs are however hairy in P. flavus, but that species 

 has the flowering stalk distinct from the leaves-bearing stem, irrespective 

 of other differences. 



